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A. HALL. Hydrogen Gas Apparatus.

Patentd June 1', 1843.

um Maw WW UNITED STATES;

GENERATING HEAT. BY HEY GAS.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 3,121, dated June 3,1843; Antedate d June 1., L843.

To all whom it may concern: I

Be it known that I, Lnwrs A. HALL, of. Newark, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, physiciamhave invented a new and useful Improvement in. the Method. of Applying Hydrogen Gas. for the Generation and Diifusion' of Heat, of which the following is a full and. exact description.

First let there be constructed a reservoir of any size commensurate in capacity for the generation in amount of all the heat required for the purpose to which it is intended to be applied. This reservoir which may be of any form must be lined with or constructed: ofv lead or any other metal or article which forms thenegative pole of an electro galvanic battery. Next let there be constructed a receiver say of one fourth the size of .the reservoir, to be made of or lined: with lead or any other metal. or anti-- cle which forms the negative pole ofan. electro galvanic battery. This. reservoir is to be, inserted; in. an inverted position, that is, the open partv down: intothe reservoir.

., Into the top'of this-receiver a pipe or pipes or tubes are. to be introduced of suflicient. size to convey ofi the hydrogen gas which is to be generated: within it, as fast as it is necessary to turn it. The reservoir is to contain the prepared fluid hereinafter men-- tioned, and; is marked in the diagram herewith submitted a, Figure 1-. The'receiver is to contain the hydrogen gas-tobe enerated: as herein, after described: an ismarked; 6, Fig. 1. Within the receiver let there be suspended or placed a basket or:

table tobe'made-of lead or any other metal inor upon which basket. or table is to be placed any metalwhich isa positive pole in reference to the composition the: reser voir is lined with and the receiver 1s made 1 ing houses and. other buildings and; apart; 'ments on board steamboats andvessels, be-

cause it emitsno oifensivesmellr The zincshould be in sheets placed on their edges slightly apart from each other, so as to; allow a free circulation of the; fluid between the sheets and toallow the gas asit is evolvedh to rise withoutany obstruction. Thezinc or 1ron,-may also'be used in folds or rolled: up, and. when so used should be placed on; end. edgesdown. The receiver is to. descend to near the. bottom. of the reset voir leaving a sufficient space'however for thefree ingress and egress oftthe fluid; or it maybe made torest onthebottom of the: reservolr and. be fastened to it, in. which. case however it must have holes: or aper-- tures in its lower rim or base of a; sizesufii cient for the free ingress and egress of the' 1 fluid. The bottom, of the .receiverand the: top of the holes or. apertures int case it. rest on the reservoir must be below the. bottom of the zinc'or: iron. constituting thepositive.

pole so that when the receiver is; fullfnone. of the gas may'escapefrom under it. Both the reservoir and receiver must be. so; con.--

structed with reference to, each; other what-f ever their size may bethat. when combined.

itime when the latter contains; its maximum of fluid and the. receiver ltS: maximum of; hydrogen gas: .The reservoir must. in. all

@cases be-ofi such dimensionsas. not to.- over- :flow' when by the: generation of the hydroigen gas in thereceiverthe fluid is: expelled from the latter .intothe; former;

i placeof using; one reservoir and: re-

iceiver two or indeed: anynumber may be i'used for the production of hydrogen; gas in ithe same manner. To the pipe. or tube or ipipes. and tubesoat; thetop'of thereceiver; are. igto be attachedi pipes on tubes: with valves.

land stop cocks to lead: the hydrogen gas @whereve'rheat is desired to be applied? For the. purpose of generating; hydrogen I gas thezreservoir. isto lie-filled three-fourths V ;full,. with-' water. Salt water will answer Fas well as fresh; Torthis; is to be added1 as;

@much of any mineral acid. as is: required by fits specific: action; to overcome the elective? chemical affinity of. the hydrogen and oxygen constituting water; In; mostof; my experie ments 1: have used one; twentieth; part of: acidum sulfuricum' by weight to nineteen; twentieths of water and this proportion I .have foundisufiicient. The decomposition of the water commences. as, soon as the zinc. or other metal within the rece1vercomesn; contact with the prepared fluid; an, electro -chemical;actiontakes place betweenthenon;

electric constituents of water and the metal constituting the positive pole: The-nonelectric of the water combines with a por'-" tion of the metal forming an OXlCl which is zinc is used white vitriol or sulfate of zinh is produced.

The electric portion of the water being thus deprived of itsnon electric is set free and instantly ascends into the receiver and by its accumulation depresses the fluid-until it is driven below the zinc or other metal within it when the electro chemical action ofthe non electric for the metal ceases. By turning the valve of the stop cock of the pipes leading from the receiver the hydrogen gas is let ofl into the atmosphere a, a constant current or stream and by applying any ignited body to the burner through which it escapes combustion instantly commences giving out the'most intense heat that can be produced by the consumption of any equal Weight of .matter that can be produced in nature or compounded by art. The hydrogen gas may also be ignited by causing the current as it escapes from thetube or burner to impinge or strike against spongy platinum. The hydrogen' gas is forced from the receiver and through the'pipe or pipes or tube or tubes by a force proportioned to the weight of the column of water displaced in its formation. The moment the hydrogen gas is consumed or let oft so'as to admit the water to come in contact with the zinc or metal constituting the positivepole the same play of electro chemical action takes place and continues until the water" is again dis placed by the generation ofthe hydrogen gas and so on ad infinitum or until all the combustible portion'of the water in the reser-' voir is consumed.

At the end of each pipe or pipes and tube or tubes is to be secured a burner or burners of the construction hereinafter described.

They may'be 'made of any size or form,

circular square or oblong or any other shape or may assume any possible position with respect to the horizon according to the extent position and locality of the body or object to be heated or the surface on which the heat is to operate. Letter d, Fig. 1, of the diagram represents a circular burner which may be used for the purpose of heating dwelling houses and other buildings. It consists of a hollow shank in which a thread is cut inside which screws down on the hydrogen gas tube or tubes outside having the shoulders so constructed as to screw down air tight upon the end of the hydrogen gas tube or tubes and pipe or pipes having two arms joined to its one on each side rising above'the shank in the form of a staple upon which the burner which is to be made of steel covered with copper rests the burner is'open in the center to allow a full current of atmospheric air to flow in on all sides of the hydrogen gas when it is undergoing combustion. Through each of the arms or branches ofthis staple passes a hole or tube which extends from the top'of the cavity of the hydro-gen gas tube to within,

one line of the top of the burner and is thence carried around the top or within a line of the top of the circle;thiscircular cavity is perforated with few or more holes as the case may require, eight holes of the one five hundredth parts of an inch in diam eter I have found to furnish a suflicient sup ply of heat to an ordinary sized room on a cold day, and can be consumed within a few inches of the base of the flame.

hen the heat is to operate on an extended surface such as a boiler burners of a smgle or-double line of holes may be used and as well as ships steamboats and other veseels let a line of pipe from the mainpipe to' be terminated in a burner be brought into the place where the heat is required. Over.

this burner is to be placedthe copper globe letter f, Fig. 1, of the diagram and which I call the heating chamberx' This globe has an internal portion ofa conical shape open at both endsthe bottom opening being for the ingress of heatasit is evolved by the burning of the hydrogen gas between the burner and the chamber and one at, the top for the egress of the nitrogen gas after the oxygen has been taken from the air by the combustion of the hydrogen gas escaping from the burner. 'This cone is represented by' the letter g Fig. 1 in the diagram. The large hole at the bottom admits a"free passage while the conical shaped portion of the chamber being attached to the globe all around its edgewithrive'tsmaking it completely water tight at its attachment form ing abase and from thence tapering to .a point, mounting up to within a few lnches .of the internal top of the chamberwhere it terminates in a hole in its summit. correspending in size with the hole in the end of the nitrogen gas tube which commences and is to be attached to the superior part of the chamber immediately over it' hereinafter mentloned.

I Thecham'ber may be *of any fornnrand 13o of any metal or material capable of heat for radiation. In place of leaving any space between the top of the internal cone and the nitrogen tube should it be preferred the latter may be united with the former in which case however another tube will have to be inserted in the chamber for the purpose of carrying the steam. The nitrogen gas tube represented in the diagram is joined to the top of the heating chamber and may be carried into the open air through a window.

or a wall or into a flue or chimney. The heating chamber may be used without water as well as water in it. If used with water according to the figure represented in the diagram the steam produced will ascend into the nitrogen gas tubewhere it will be condensed at that point wherethe temperature is sufiiciently low for condensation and the water formed by this condensation will descend through the reverse water tube letter h, Fig. 1 and be conducted into the reservoir or in any other way disposed of.

The principle on which the heating chamber is made is applicable to boilers for the generation of steam, and they may be made with as many conical shaped internal portions for the application of heat as may be desired. In all cases however this internal part through which the heat passes will have to be united with the nitrogen tube. By a steam pipe leading from the chamber or boiler where the steam is generated it can be connected with any apparatus through which it is to be applied. An example is given in Fig. 2 of the drawing.

lVhat I claim and desire to secure by Let- 

